Temptation from our sponsors...
Temptation from our sponsors...
Before I came to Tee-Junction, I had plans to start my own site hosting detailed reviews of clothing companies, so I began writing them in a Wordpad document. By now, I think I have at least 10 reviews that have never seen the light of day, which I will now share with you here in a weekly feature, every Monday. 
I’ve also begun to upload my photos to a Flickr account — I’ll be reviewing all of these shirts/brands in coming weeks, except for those from very well-known, mainstream companies like Threadless or Woot. Any requests? Let me know in the comments.
This week, I will review MySoti, a print-on-demand company. I decided to go with MySoti because: a) I finally received the product I ordered back in September; and b) quality is usually called into question more often when it comes to print-on-demand techniques. I know I’ve seen my fair share of crappy digital and iron-on prints from similar companies (Cafepress, Zazzle, etc.), so hopefully, this review will help you make an informed decision about your purchase.
I purchased “Marilyn Sane” by designer RikkiB. This striking design is offered for sale at In the Dryer as well, but apparently that site isn’t working, so it has been moved to MySoti for the time being. I’m kind of glad, because although I’d love to have a screenprinted version, the girl’s shirt at In the Dryer is pink, and I detest wearing anything pink. Argh.
I chose to have the design printed on a white American Apparel shirt, which costs $30, but I managed to bump that down to $15 thanks to a limited-use 50% off code promoted on the company’s Twitter. 
At a Glance
MySoti is like Cafepress and Zazzle in that it’s a print-on-demand service. You upload a design to the website, set your commission, and let the company handle everything else from printing to shipping to customer service. These companies all use DTG (direct-to-garment, also known as digital, printing) to produce garments on demand. The difference between them is that at MySoti, there is a much larger focus on art.
The Shirt
(Click to enlarge)
You can choose to have your shirt printed on Alstyle or American Apparel if you’re a guy, or Bella or AA if you’re a girl. There’s a price difference, of course — AA is more expensive. The final price will vary depending on what commission the artist chooses to set.
The DTG turned out pretty well for my design — the halftones look terrific (if not as dark as I’d like) and the lightning bolt is nice and bold. Since the ink is applied directly to the fabric, it feels soft and weightless; take a look at my detail photos above. From a distance, the photographic quality of the Marilyn Monroe image is just fantastic. Of course, it’s important to bear in mind that DTG prints on white shirts are never the best to judge by, since white is easy — all the printer needs to do is put the ink down as if it was a piece of paper. The real proof of how well DTG technology works is with dark shirts, where some sort of white underlayer is needed. Results in this area tend to vary.
Another noteworthy quality of the print is that it’s HUGE. Maybe it’s because I wear the smallest AA size possible, but I love that the image occupies most of the front of the shirt. It really makes the art pop. Very impressive.
I washed the shirt once before wearing it (I turned it inside out just in case), and despite not following the washing instructions like most regular folks, the print was just fine. I sure hope it stays that way.
Shipping and Service
Once the shirt was actually made and shipped out to me, there were no problems — it arrived in a timely manner, and shipping costs weren’t insane. The real issue is the wait.
MySoti has been dealing with a backlog of orders caused by demand and supplier problems; read this blog post for more info. It seems this issue has lasted since before the summer, and hasn’t eased up any. They’ve been very good at dealing with personal inquiries — when I emailed them about my order, they were quick to respond and apologize, and offer a refund if I so wished. At the same time, I saw them (sort of) snap at an angry customer over Twitter, so who knows. For your information, I ordered this shirt in late September, and it was early-to-mid November when I received it. I’d say MySoti needs to close its doors for a bit, so new orders don’t make the problem even worse, but hey, I don’t know much about running a business.
Closing Thoughts
The shirt, design, and printing are all satisfactory, but customers should be aware of MySoti’s order backlog problem, and the effect this has on the processing time. Be prepared to wait for your shirt.
